Netflix vs. Cable TV: Will Netflix eventually beat Cable at its own game? We are here to find out.

Who Uses Netflix?

Television syndication, in a nutshell, is a channel or network selling another network or channel the rights to broadcast the show on their own channel or network. So, for example, syndication took place when Netflix bought the rights to show “How I Met Your Mother” as part of their streaming service.

As much money as Netflix has, and how powerful they are in the entertainment industry, it should be no problem for them to pick up the most popular shows…right?

Well, it isn’t as easy as people think. There are several issues that keep Netflix from getting the shows that are so valuable to other networks. For example, many channels will ask for an extremely large sum of money to syndicate their show, such as the TV show “Sense8” would allegedly cost Netfliix around $9 million per episode. Netflix has to decide whether or not they want to invest that type of money into one show.

Another key issue is the competition is growing, and growing fast. Other streaming sites like Amazon and Hulu make Netflix’s time getting shows much harder, because lots of networks will ask for more money in order to get the exclusive rights to syndicate a show. Also, Hulu is owned by Disney, Fox, and Comcast, which in turn gives Hulu solo rights to many of their shows.

Netflix has attempted to battle this issue by creating their own original shows, and they have had lots of success. Well-renowned shows like “Stranger Things” “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black” have given Netflix large amount of fans and followers.

Although Netflix has also had a few original shows that have been less than stellar, it appears that they are not afraid to take chances and make shows that could help them grow in terms of fan support, which in turn generates more money. If they can’t get the popular shows, they will create their own. – Adam

As this battle rages on, and you try to pick a side of the battle to support, let’s look at the pros and cons of each service.

Cable Television Pros:

Live Television/Sports:

The biggest factor that gives cable any chance of survival is its presentation of live events, such as sporting events, live news, and live events such as New Year’s Eve Celebrations, competition finales and many more. Many of the events are available solely on cable, and even for the rare exceptions of being allowed to stream the events online, you still need a cable subscription to be able to view it. A lot of the events, such as sports, are shown on a delay, meaning that the ending may have already happened before you see the ending, making it very difficult to avoid a dreaded spoiler.

More Options:

Even though streaming services like Netflix are constantly adding more and more items to their library on a regular basis, cable television still has much more content available. Thousands of channels full of shows, movies, news, music, and much more is available at the touch of a remote.

Cable Television Cons:

Cost:

Cable is not cheap. Sure, companies offer a deal that may appear to be too good to be true for the first year, but those prices will skyrocket at the beginning of your second year for the two year contract you must sign up for. Also, when you buy and pay for a cable account, you do not get to pick and choose which channels you want or don’t want, so you are forced to pay for channels you may never watch.

Streaming Service Pros:

Ultimate Control:

You decide what to watch, when to watch it, and how much you want to watch. Unlike with cable television, which has a set schedule for their programming, you can watch as much of whatever show you want (that is available on the streaming site, of course) whenever you want.

Affordable:

With most services starting out at under $10 a month, it is definitely a much more affordable entertainment outlet compared to cable television. This is a major selling point to the younger audience.

Streaming Service Cons:

Connection Required:

Even though internet connections are becoming more and more readily available each day, this is becoming less of an issue. That being said, if there ever is an issue with an internet connection, your ability to use streaming services goes out the window… Unless you want to use up all your data.

So after looking at the pros and cons of cable television versus streaming services, it seems pretty clear to me as well as an ever-growing majority of people that streaming services like Netflix are the way of the future, and with some tweaks, could definitely overthrow cable television as we know it.

“Over the past few years, traditional cable companies have seen their overall subscribership drop. Telecommunications research firm MoffettNathanson estimates the loss at roughly 3 percent per quarter from the first quarter of 2012 to the second quarter of 2014. Meanwhile, Internet streaming continues to expand. CBS and HBO announced new streaming services in October, and DirecTV started offering non-subscribers its NFL Sunday Ticket service over the Internet.”

What does that mean for you? Options. The pricey, one-size-fits-all cable package is history. Viewers will be able to choose from an ever-expanding menu of service on the Internet.” (Jones S. 2014) – Adam